Pope Francis: A Boost for San Lorenzo?

March 15, 2013 6:39 p.m. ET

From the country that produced the divine skills of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona's Hand of God at the 1986 World Cup comes a soccer-loving pontiff. Pope Francis is a known fan of San Lorenzo, a club from his native Buenos Aires.

The club last won a major trophy in 2007. So it has some work to do if it's going to help the new pope rise to the top of the spiritual leaders' league table.

ENLARGE

Pope John Paul II had the most to celebrate. He was made an honorary member of Barcelona in 1982 after he celebrated Mass with 120,000 people in Camp Nou and the club won 26 major trophies during his papacy. George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican church, is a known Arsenal fan and the club has won six major honors during his time in office from 1991-2002.

Bradford City hasn't seen any silverware since it presented the Dalai Lama with a shirt this year —the Bantams actually wear similar colors to those of the Dalai Lama's robes—but the fourth-tier club did perform a minor miracle: It reached the final of English soccer's Football League Cup. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was made an honorary member of FC Twente last year, but the Dutch team has yet to win anything either.

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, a British imam and lifelong Liverpool fan, only went one trophy better. Since he was elected as an executive member of the Muslim Council of Britain in 2008, the storied club has won just a solitary trophy, the 2012 Football League Cup.

It might be worth keeping an eye on Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi-elect of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, who is a Tottenham supporter. Spurs, currently third in the Premier League, are on the ascendancy. They also advanced to the Europe League quarterfinals.

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